The GSA Difference: LGBTQ and Ally Experiences in High Schools with and without Gay-Straight Alliances

Abstract: We examine the lived experiences of high-school students who participated in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)-centered activism of some kind, highlighting the promise of gay-straight alliance groups by comparing the experiences of students at schools with gay-straight alliances (GSA schools) with the experiences of students at schools that did not have an LGBTQ-specific group (no-GSA schools). We compare students at GSA and no-GSA schools based on their experiences of harassment, experiences of support from authority figures, and patterns of friendships. We find that students at both types of schools experienced harassment and heard negative comments about lesbian and gay people. However, students at GSA schools reported more support from teachers and administrators than students at no-GSA schools, who have stories of teachers and administrators actively opposing equality for LGBTQ people. Students at GSA schools reported a wide variety of friendships across sexual identities, while students at no-GSA schools felt more isolated and withdrawn. This much-needed qualitative comparative analysis of students' experiences brings a human face to the improved quality of life that schools with gay-straight alliances can bring to young people

The GSA difference: LGBTQ and ally experiences in high schools with and without gay-straight alliances

Sherpa Romeo green journal: open accessWe examine the lived experiences of high-school students who participated in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)-centered activism of some kind, highlighting the promise of gay-straight alliance groups by comparing the experiences of students at schools with gay-straight alliances (GSA schools) with the experiences of students at schools that did not have an LGBTQ-specific group (no-GSA schools). We compare students at GSA and no-GSA schools based on their experiences of harassment, experiences of support from authority figures, and patterns of friendships. We find that students at both types of schools experienced harassment and heard negative comments about lesbian and gay people. However, students at GSA schools reported more support from teachers and administrators than students at no-GSA schools, who have stories of teachers and administrators actively opposing equality for LGBTQ people. Students at GSA schools reported a wide variety of friendships across sexual identities, while students at no-GSA schools felt more isolated and withdrawn. This much-needed qualitative comparative analysis of students’ experiences brings a human face to the improved quality of life that schools with gay-straight alliances can bring to young people.Ye

Lumbar Puncture-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Patients, Caregivers, Doctors, and Nurses in Zambia.

Lumbar puncture (LP) is underused for neuroinfectious disease diagnosis in Zambia, but reasons for poor uptake remain speculative. This cross-sectional study assessed LP knowledge, attitudes, and practices among patients/caregivers and healthcare workers (HCWs) and predictors of LP completion. Patients with suspected central nervous system infection, caregivers, and HCWs at the University Teaching Hospitals in 2016 were eligible. Questions adapted from the existing literature were used for a LP knowledge score. Predictors of knowledge scores were assessed independently for patients/caregivers and HCWs. Predictors of LP completion were assessed using multivariable logistic regression. Among 123 patients/caregivers, LP knowledge was poor. Pediatric caregivers were more likely than adult patients/caregivers to report LP could be replaced by neuroimaging (90% versus 78%, P < 0.001) and cause paralysis (57% versus 39%, P = 0.01). There were no significant predictors of the knowledge score among patients/caregivers. Among HCWs, 28% said LP makes patients clinically worse, and 60% reported it could cause paralysis. The increased knowledge score was associated with greater wealth (P = 0.03) and personally knowing someone who underwent LP (P < 0.001). Lumbar puncture was completed on 67/112 (57%) patients and was associated with an increased knowledge score (OR: 1.62 [95% CI: 1.19-2.23]). Pediatric patients (OR: 0.18 [95% CI: 0.07-0.47]) and those with a fear of paralysis (OR 0.29 [95% CI: 0.11-0.77]) were less likely to undergo LP. Improving LP-related knowledge may improve uptake. Healthcare workers sense of LP risk may also play a role in encouraging/discouraging use

A scoping review of health-related stigma outcomes for high-burden diseases in low- and middle-income countries

__Background:__ Stigma is associated with health conditions that drive disease burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including HIV, tuberculosis, mental health problems, epilepsy, and substance use disorders. However, the literature discussing the relationship between stigma and health outcomes is largely fragmented within disease-specific siloes, thus limiting the identification of common moderators or mechanisms through which stigma potentiates adverse health outcomes as well as the development of broadly relevant stigma mitigation interventions. __Methods:__ We conducted a scoping review to provide a critical overview of the breadth of research on stigma for each of the five aforementioned conditions in LMICs, including their methodological strengths and limitations

Conflict diamonds, globalization and consumption : an examination of Kanye West's Diamonds from Sierra Leone

Third edition

Do we really want to keep the gate threshold that high?

Gold open access articleDrawing upon the survey instruments of Lewis and Neville [1], Nadal [2], and Yang and Carroll [3], we conducted an online survey that captured experiences of discrimination and microaggressions reported by 387 recording engineers, producers, and studio assistants living in 46 different countries. Our statistical analyses reveal highly significant and systemic gender inequalities within the field, e.g., cisgender women experience many more sexually inappropriate comments (p < e-14, large effect size) and unwanted comments about their physical appearance (p < e-12, large effect size) than do cisgender men, and they are much more likely to face challenges to their authority (p < e-13, large effect size) and expertise (p < e-10, large effect size). A comparison of our results with a study about women’s experiences of microaggressions within STEM academia [3] indicates that the recording studio workplace scores 33% worse on the silencing and maginalization of women, 33% worse on gender-related workplace microaggressions, and 24% worse on sexual objectification. These findings call for serious reflection on the part of the community to progress from awareness to collective action that will unlock the control room for women and other marginalized groups of studio professionals